Nine people, including four Londoners, are facing a combined 63 charges after police turned up over half a million dollars worth of various drugs from homes in four different cities.
The OPP-led provincial joint forces guns and gangs enforcement team learned of people in London, the Greater Toronto Area, and Western Ontario allegedly trafficking drugs last October and launched an investigation. As the investigation progressed, investigators found illicit drugs were also being trafficked to the Thunder Bay area.
On February 28, seven homes in London, Mississauga, Vaughan, and Thunder Bay were searched. Drugs seized during the raids include more than 3.2 kilograms of cocaine, more than 1.3 kilograms of powdered fentanyl, over 135 grams of methamphetamine, nearly 10 grams of MDMA ecstasy, 3,700 oxycodone tablets, 2,000 hydromorphone capsules, 8,000 hydromorphone (8mg) tablets, more than 35 alprazolam tablets, nearly 80 acetaminophen and codeine tablets, and approximately 1,500 millilitres of promethazine (liquid codeine)
The estimated street value of the drugs seized is approximately $629,000, police said.
The searches also turned up three loaded handguns, ammunition, two magazines, drug paraphernalia, counterfeit cash, three silver bars, 15 silver coins, jewellery, a set of brass knuckles, and more than $210,000 in Canadian money.
"Opioids, methamphetamine and other illicit drugs have devastating impacts on our communities," said OPP Detective Inspector Lee Fulford. "The same criminals who are trafficking illicit are also often found to be in possession of illegal firearms - which, in this case, were loaded."
Nine people, ranging in age from 22 to 33, were arrested. Of the accused, four are from London, four are from Mississauga, and one is from Toronto. All are charged with multiple counts of possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking, in addition to other offences.
